Officials: Roosevelt County Fair bigger than previous years

PORTALES — After a bustling week of activity on the fairgrounds, the rides have ground to a halt, the smell of greasy fair food has faded and the animals and art projects have all been carted home by their respective owners.

The Roosevelt County Fair wrapped up Aug. 31 after a week of carnival rides, live music and other events. The fair was moved back a week this year, running from Aug. 27-31 and leading into Labor Day Weekend.

According to Fair Board President Wayne McAlister there were 7,417 tickets sold at the gates. Friday saw the most visitors with 2,451 tickets sold. Fair officials were unable provide numbers for last year’s attendance.

“The turnout for the fair has been good. The bands and entertainment have been even better than we expected,” McAlister said.

The various livestock shows had good participation with plenty of entries across the board. Fair officials reported there were 132 swine, 110 lambs, 20 steers, 32 dairy heifers, 220 poultry, 69 rabbits and 101 goats entered into their respective shows this year. The Youth Horse Show also had 40 entries.

Wrapping up the livestock portion of the fair, the 31st annual Junior Livestock Sale held 60 auctions Friday night, raising $131,350 for exhibitors from local Future Farmers of America and 4-H programs. Last year the show raised $134,975 from 58 auctions.

“This was one of the bigger fairs I’ve been to and there was just good energy and a good atmosphere this year,” said Ryan Craig, the Roosevelt County 4-H Coordinator.

The art shows also had more entries than previous years, with more entries from older exhibitors into the Home Arts and Fine Arts shows. There were 2,294 total projects entered this year across the Home Arts, Fine Arts and Youth Arts shows.

This year also saw the antique tractor show return on Thursday for Pioneer Day, culminating in a few tractor games that night. McAlister hopes to make a regular event after the last two years.

The new fair week did cause a few difficulties however. The annual Cowboy Polo event was canceled due to a lack of riders.

According to organizer Mark Clark, 25 riders were expected to show up for the tournament, but none appeared at the scheduled time Friday night. In the end, the only rider to make an appearance that night was Referee Laurel Leppke.

“I expect they’re all off up in the mountains or lakes for the Labor Day weekend,” Clark said.

Making due, Leppke and her daughter Amanda White did laps on horseback for the small crowd before opening the outdoor arena for kickball.